Sony Sued Again, Agere System Cries Patent Infringements

Looks like Sony lawyers are due back in court. After Immersion won more than $90 million for its Dual Shock patent suit last March, another company, Agere Systems is taking Sony through the legal circus.

According to the semiconductor company, Sony committed patent infringements on eight products, including the PSP, PS2, PS3 (based on announced specs), VAIO computers, Handycams, Walkman players, Memory Stick Duos, and Location Free TV. The technology being contested are the LAN technology and tungsten plugs, among other things.

The lawsuit claims Sony willingly infringed on the patents and – here’s the scary part – Agere wants to see Sony’s books so it can determine how much money they can wring from the electronics giant. Sony denies the charges, naturally, and claims some of the patents issued by Agere omitted important information when it filed for them. Does that means some of the patents were filed properly but Sony used them anyway?

According to lawsuit-magnet Sony, it has the rights to use seven of the eight patents through a 1989 cross-licensing deal with AT&T and Lucent (whose microelectronics group became Agere Systems). Sony believes the patents in question are invalid and wants the case flushed down the judge’s toilet. This is not the first time Agere sued Sony. By the way, Sony counter-sued Agere last month and demanded a jury trial.

Looks like a job tailored-made for Denny Crane.

Via Gamespot

Looks like Sony lawyers are due back in court. After Immersion won more than $90 million for its Dual Shock patent suit last March, another company, Agere Systems is taking Sony through the legal circus.

According to the semiconductor company, Sony committed patent infringements on eight products, including the PSP, PS2, PS3 (based on announced specs), VAIO computers, Handycams, Walkman players, Memory Stick Duos, and Location Free TV. The technology being contested are the LAN technology and tungsten plugs, among other things.

The lawsuit claims Sony willingly infringed on the patents and – here’s the scary part – Agere wants to see Sony’s books so it can determine how much money they can wring from the electronics giant. Sony denies the charges, naturally, and claims some of the patents issued by Agere omitted important information when it filed for them. Does that means some of the patents were filed properly but Sony used them anyway?

According to lawsuit-magnet Sony, it has the rights to use seven of the eight patents through a 1989 cross-licensing deal with AT&T and Lucent (whose microelectronics group became Agere Systems). Sony believes the patents in question are invalid and wants the case flushed down the judge’s toilet. This is not the first time Agere sued Sony. By the way, Sony counter-sued Agere last month and demanded a jury trial.

Looks like a job tailored-made for Denny Crane.

Via Gamespot